Senior Software Engineer - Java and AI

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Optum is seeking a highly skilled Senior Technical Lead - AI Solutions to lead the design, development, and delivery of AI-powered capabilities within the team working for creating Prior Auth agents.

This role requires a strong hands-on leader with 10+ years of experience in Java-based enterprise application development, distributed systems, cloud-native architectures, and modern AI technologies. The ideal candidate will provide technical leadership across backend engineering, AI/GenAI solution development, data integration, and cloud platform initiatives while partnering closely with Product, Architecture, Security, and Data teams.

The Senior Technical Lead will be responsible for delivering scalable, secure, and high-performing applications that support contract intelligence, policy interpretation, payment integrity analytics, reimbursement validation, and knowledge automation solutions.

The ideal candidate combines solid expertise in AI/ML, Generative AI, cloud platforms, enterprise application development, and software architecture, with a proven track record of leading engineering teams and delivering enterprise AI solutions.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Technical Leadership & Solution Delivery
  • Lead the design and implementation of AI and Generative AI solutions for the creating agents with Java backend application deployed in azure
  • Work closely with architects and product teams to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions
  • Drive technical design discussions, code reviews, and engineering best practices
  • Provide guidance and mentorship to software engineers, data engineers, and AI practitioners
  • Support technology modernization initiatives across the Payment Integrity ecosystem
  • Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend solutions aligned with business needs
• Security, Compliance & Responsible AI
  • Implement AI solutions aligned with enterprise security and compliance standards
  • Collaborate with privacy, security, governance, and compliance teams
  • Support AI model validation, monitoring, and governance processes
  • Incorporate responsible AI practices including transparency, auditability, and human oversight
  • Ensure solutions meet healthcare regulatory and enterprise requirements
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
  • Partner with Product Managers, Architects, Data Scientists, Business Analysts, and Engineering leaders
  • Communicate technical designs and implementation approaches to business and technical stakeholders
  • Participate in architecture reviews and technical governance forums
  • Support proof-of-concept initiatives and innovation programs
• Comply with all applicable Company policies, procedures, and business directives, changes including those relating to work location, team assignments, work schedules, and flexible work arrangements

Required Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of hands-on experience in Java backend development and enterprise application engineering
• 10+ years of experience designing and developing scalable, distributed, and cloud-native applications
• 3+ years of experience building AI, Machine Learning, Generative AI, or advanced analytics solutions
• 2+ years of experience in Technical Lead, Lead Engineer, Senior Engineer, or equivalent leadership roles
• Experience building and supporting high-volume REST-based microservices and event-driven architectures
• Experience delivering enterprise applications on cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP
• Software Architecture & Engineering
  • Proven solid hands-on expertise in:
    • Enterprise Java Application Development
    • Microservices Architecture
    • Spring Boot
    • Spring Cloud
    • Distributed Systems Design
    • Event-Driven Architecture
    • RESTful API Development
    • API-First Design
    • Backend Service Development
    • Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
    • Enterprise Integration Patterns
    • Cloud-Native Development
    • Secure Application Development
    • CI/CD and DevSecOps Practices
• Programming Skills
  • Solid proficiency in:
    • Backend Technologies
    • Java (10+ Years)
    • Spring Boot
    • Spring Cloud
    • JPA / Hibernate
    • REST APIs
    • Apache Kafka / Event Streaming
    • Maven / Gradle
    • AI & Data Technologies
    • Python
    • SQL
    • Spark
    • AI/LLM Framework Integration
    • Cloud & DevOps
    • Docker
    • Kubernetes
    • Infrastructure as Code (Terraform preferred)
    • GitHub Actions / Jenkins / Azure DevOps
    • Monitoring and Observability Platforms

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working within regulated industries such as healthcare, insurance, or financial services
• Experience implementing AI and GenAI capabilities within Java-based enterprise applications using:
• Azure OpenAI
  • LangChain
  • Semantic Kernel
  • Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
  • Vector Databases
  • AI Assistants and Copilots
  • Agentic Workflows
  • Enterprise Search Solutions

#LITECH

At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone-of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income-deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes - an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.